Archive for September, 2016

Supporters say, “Why don’t they just get a job?” Clients say, “I just need a job!” Indeed, getting a job is their number one way off the streets, but getting the job isn’t really the issue. In our efforts to help our clients, we discovered three surprises about street youth and employment.

Surprise #1: most of our clients can get a job quickly. Austin’s economy is booming, and unemployment is low. Once clients start to apply, jobs come quickly. Take Georgia, for example. She came in this past month and said, “Shazaam! I got a job today. They hired me on the spot! I start tomorrow.” I had watched her behavior on the streets for a while, and I was skeptical things would go so quickly for her. Turns out, she was very good at navigating the interview for an entry-level job.

Surprise #2: most street youth leave new jobs soon, not because they are fired (as we had assumed), but because they quit! When we asked clients why, most told us they quit in order to avoid a social awkwardness they encounter at work. After her first week, Georgia came to us, worried. “Somebody told my boss I wasn’t doing a good job,” she said. “I guess this job is about over.” As we role-played her options, she said her first instinct was to tell off the “somebody,” a co-worker. She talked herself out of that. Her second idea was to plead her case with her boss, saying “I’m just a street girl doing the best I can.” We know from experience that it’s almost always a bad idea to disclose your homelessness. It raises stereotypes, if not fear or suspicion. “Just ask your boss for feedback,” we suggested. “If the boss is a straight shooter, any issues will be addressed.” Georgia plans to do this now, but if experience holds, she will quit soon for another reason:

Surprise #3: We have discovered through our Job Club efforts that it’s very important for clients to be looking for something they really want — even at entry level. In our weekly Job Club, we ask, “What is your dream job? Who or what company would you work for, no matter what you had to do?” I remember a frustrated young client named Jason giving this surprising answer: “I want to work in trend-setting marketing. I want to be involved in top fashion, top trends, top anything.” And he had just quit three food service jobs in a row! We helped him list entry-level jobs he knew in fashion: janitor at a mall, salesperson at a clothing store, model at an ad agency. Within a week he was selling swimwear! I ran into him not long ago and he’s still there. The job is not a soul-sucking grind, he said. He’s considering community college, is no longer on the streets and pays rent monthly!

We believe such an exercise will help Georgia find an entry-level job she can hold on to! So many of our clients delight and surprise themselves by finding meaningful and productive jobs to lift themselves from the streets. It’s never easy, and us “older folks” probably couldn’t manage a job, being homeless, feeding ourself, staying clean, and all that without a home. But our clients are strong, resilient and amazing! We are so blessed to get such a front-row seat to watch them develop. Thank you for being a part of it!

The opportunities we offer street youth — to wash clothes, eat a sandwich, get an ID, study the Bible, find a shirt that fits, provide bug repellent — help us make inroads into their lives. Positive results often follow! Volunteers who give of their time and in-kind donations play important roles. For more information on participating with SYM, click on the link below:

We pray for our clients in four important areas: stability, sobriety, reconnecting with God, and finding a faith home.

Join us in celebrating these:

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Stability

Jobs obtained — One got a new job at El Mercado. Another at a car wash. Another at Popeye’s. One at at H2O. One client no longer on the streets has a job as a janitor at UT and is the elected labor representative. Three more additional clients are working at new places. Another client no longer on the streets has a new job at Hoodz steam cleaning restaurant vent hoods. One client no longer on the streets just passed is real estate exam and is a new broker! One client no longer on the streets has a job at a concrete company. One client was hired by the Downtown Alliance. Another is is working at a restaurant on the Drag, and one got a job at Fry’s Electronics. Finally, one has a new job at the UT Co-op Please join us in praying they can keep their jobs. It’s not easy!

Jobs maintained — One client is still working at Barlotta; Another is still working as a secretary at Centex. Job maintenance takes work!

One client wants to serve Street Youth Ministry someday. One client confessed to an ongoing sin. Another client is celebrating his new belief in Jesus. Faith is such a great resource!

Finding a Faith Home

One client is actively looking for a church home, and another is attending a Bible study at his church. We are our clients’ church-on-training-wheels, and we love it when they find their own communities to call home!

We’re launching two new events for all this month — exciting stuff! We continue our efforts to provide clients with consistent and safe indoor opportunities.

With UT police recommending fewer homeless in the UT area, our clients are more at risk than ever of being asked to leave the area because they are young and homeless. So events intended to take place primarily indoors are really our only way to serve them.

This first event — which we are calling “Hey, Neighbor!” — I’m really excited about! After the catastrophic 2015 invasion of the K2 drug and the tragic near-campus murder earlier this year, the neighborhood needs lots of healing. A basic way to start that process is simply to clean up the area. And the SYM way is to encourage our clients to reach their goals by participating in it.

So — at 3:30 p.m. each Wednesday, we’ll send people out to take photos of West Campus areas that need cleaning up, and we’ll post them on Facebook. Then we’ll challenge clients to do the work. Those that do will get points redeemable for necessities like sleeping bags, backpacks, etc. As a project is completed, we’ll send people out to take pictures and videotape each other’s stories so they can explain to neighbors in the area what is being done. We’ll post all this to Facebook, too.

Our goal is to get our clients interested in earning by working and improving neighborhood relations. Once we get things going, we might branch into gardening and art installation. We’ll need volunteers to help set up and operate Hey Neighbor from 3:15 to 5:30 p.m. — — —

The second event is a relaunch of Job Club by client request. And this time there will be stronger participation benefits. Attenders get access to a Facebook group where we post job listings early. We’ll ask community members to notify us of openings. And when clients get new jobs, we’ll give them three discounted daily bus passes (at 10% regular cost) followed by additional passes as they stay employed until paychecks begin to roll in. We’ll consider helping Job Club members with discounted job needs (shoes, pants, etc).

We’ll have to fundraise to have a kitty for this. We’ll ask donors to give 10 times whatever amounts clients supply. We’ll also need volunteers to help us set up, teach, role-play and clean up each week from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Our goal is getting clients to open up their imaginations in terms of career vocations and to retain the entry-level jobs they get.

Here’s what our “block schedule” looks like. You can see how it fits in with other services in the neighborhood. Our events are shown in Orange. Our very close partner, Lifeworks Street Outreach, is shown in Blue. The Micah 6 Street Youth events are shown in purple. We closely collaborate with these organizations. Other help from neighbors is shown in gray.

We’re launching two new events for all this month — exciting stuff! We continue our efforts to provide clients with consistent and safe indoor opportunities.

With UT police recommending fewer homeless in the UT area, our clients are more at risk than ever of being asked to leave the area because they are young and homeless. So events intended to take place primarily indoors are really our only way to serve them.

This first event — which we are calling “Hey, Neighbor!” — I’m really excited about! After the catastrophic 2015 invasion of the K2 drug and the tragic near-campus murder earlier this year, the neighborhood needs lots of healing. A basic way to start that process is simply to clean up the area. And the SYM way is to encourage our clients to reach their goals by participating in it.

So — at 3:30 p.m. each Wednesday, we’ll send people out to take photos of West Campus areas that need cleaning up, and we’ll post them on Facebook. Then we’ll challenge clients to do the work. Those that do will get points redeemable for necessities like sleeping bags, backpacks, etc. As a project is completed, we’ll send people out to take pictures and videotape each other’s stories so they can explain to neighbors in the area what is being done. We’ll post all this to Facebook, too.

Our goal is to get our clients interested in earning by working and improving neighborhood relations. Once we get things going, we might branch into gardening and art installation. We’ll need volunteers to help set up and operate Hey Neighbor from 3:15 to 5:30 p.m. — — —

The second event is a relaunch of Job Club by client request. And this time there will be stronger participation benefits. Attenders get access to a Facebook group where we post job listings early. We’ll ask community members to notify us of openings. And when clients get new jobs, we’ll give them three discounted daily bus passes (at 10% regular cost) followed by additional passes as they stay employed until paychecks begin to roll in. We’ll consider helping Job Club members with discounted job needs (shoes, pants, etc).

We’ll have to fundraise to have a kitty for this. We’ll ask donors to give 10 times whatever amounts clients supply. We’ll also need volunteers to help us set up, teach, role-play and clean up each week from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Our goal is getting clients to open up their imaginations in terms of career vocations and to retain the entry-level jobs they get.

Here’s what our “block schedule” looks like. You can see how it fits in with other services in the neighborhood. Our events are shown in Orange. Our very close partner, Lifeworks Street Outreach, is shown in Blue. The Micah 6 Street Youth events are shown in purple. We closely collaborate with these organizations. Other help from neighbors is shown in gray.

We’re launching two new events for all this month — exciting stuff! We continue our efforts to provide clients with consistent and safe indoor opportunities.

With UT police recommending fewer homeless in the UT area, our clients are more at risk than ever of being asked to leave the area because they are young and homeless. So events intended to take place primarily indoors are really our only way to serve them.

This first event — which we are calling “Hey, Neighbor!” — I’m really excited about! After the catastrophic 2015 invasion of the K2 drug and the tragic near-campus murder earlier this year, the neighborhood needs lots of healing. A basic way to start that process is simply to clean up the area. And the SYM way is to encourage our clients to reach their goals by participating in it.

So — at 3:30 p.m. each Wednesday, we’ll send people out to take photos of West Campus areas that need cleaning up, and we’ll post them on Facebook. Then we’ll challenge clients to do the work. Those that do will get points redeemable for necessities like sleeping bags, backpacks, etc. As a project is completed, we’ll send people out to take pictures and videotape each other’s stories so they can explain to neighbors in the area what is being done. We’ll post all this to Facebook, too.

Our goal is to get our clients interested in earning by working and improving neighborhood relations. Once we get things going, we might branch into gardening and art installation. We’ll need volunteers to help set up and operate Hey Neighbor from 3:15 to 5:30 p.m. — — —

The second event is a relaunch of Job Club by client request. And this time there will be stronger participation benefits. Attenders get access to a Facebook group where we post job listings early. We’ll ask community members to notify us of openings. And when clients get new jobs, we’ll give them three discounted daily bus passes (at 10% regular cost) followed by additional passes as they stay employed until paychecks begin to roll in. We’ll consider helping Job Club members with discounted job needs (shoes, pants, etc).

We’ll have to fundraise to have a kitty for this. We’ll ask donors to give 10 times whatever amounts clients supply. We’ll also need volunteers to help us set up, teach, role-play and clean up each week from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Our goal is getting clients to open up their imaginations in terms of career vocations and to retain the entry-level jobs they get.

Here’s what our “block schedule” looks like. You can see how it fits in with other services in the neighborhood. Our events are shown in Orange. Our very close partner, Lifeworks Street Outreach, is shown in Blue. The Micah 6 Street Youth events are shown in purple. We closely collaborate with these organizations. Other help from neighbors is shown in gray.

We’re launching two new events for all this month — exciting stuff! We continue our efforts to provide clients with consistent and safe indoor opportunities.

With UT police recommending fewer homeless in the UT area, our clients are more at risk than ever of being asked to leave the area because they are young and homeless. So events intended to take place primarily indoors are really our only way to serve them.

This first event — which we are calling “Hey, Neighbor!” — I’m really excited about! After the catastrophic 2015 invasion of the K2 drug and the tragic near-campus murder earlier this year, the neighborhood needs lots of healing. A basic way to start that process is simply to clean up the area. And the SYM way is to encourage our clients to reach their goals by participating in it.

So — at 3:30 p.m. each Wednesday, we’ll send people out to take photos of West Campus areas that need cleaning up, and we’ll post them on Facebook. Then we’ll challenge clients to do the work. Those that do will get points redeemable for necessities like sleeping bags, backpacks, etc. As a project is completed, we’ll send people out to take pictures and videotape each other’s stories so they can explain to neighbors in the area what is being done. We’ll post all this to Facebook, too.

Our goal is to get our clients interested in earning by working and improving neighborhood relations. Once we get things going, we might branch into gardening and art installation. We’ll need volunteers to help set up and operate Hey Neighbor from 3:15 to 5:30 p.m. — — —

The second event is a relaunch of Job Club by client request. And this time there will be stronger participation benefits. Attenders get access to a Facebook group where we post job listings early. We’ll ask community members to notify us of openings. And when clients get new jobs, we’ll give them three discounted daily bus passes (at 10% regular cost) followed by additional passes as they stay employed until paychecks begin to roll in. We’ll consider helping Job Club members with discounted job needs (shoes, pants, etc).

We’ll have to fundraise to have a kitty for this. We’ll ask donors to give 10 times whatever amounts clients supply. We’ll also need volunteers to help us set up, teach, role-play and clean up each week from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Our goal is getting clients to open up their imaginations in terms of career vocations and to retain the entry-level jobs they get.

Here’s what our “block schedule” looks like. You can see how it fits in with other services in the neighborhood. Our events are shown in Orange. Our very close partner, Lifeworks Street Outreach, is shown in Blue. The Micah 6 Street Youth events are shown in purple. We closely collaborate with these organizations. Other help from neighbors is shown in gray.

We’re launching two new events for all this month — exciting stuff! We continue our efforts to provide clients with consistent and safe indoor opportunities.

With UT police recommending fewer homeless in the UT area, our clients are more at risk than ever of being asked to leave the area because they are young and homeless. So events intended to take place primarily indoors are really our only way to serve them.

This first event — which we are calling “Hey, Neighbor!” — I’m really excited about! After the catastrophic 2015 invasion of the K2 drug and the tragic near-campus murder earlier this year, the neighborhood needs lots of healing. A basic way to start that process is simply to clean up the area. And the SYM way is to encourage our clients to reach their goals by participating in it.

So — at 3:30 p.m. each Wednesday, we’ll send people out to take photos of West Campus areas that need cleaning up, and we’ll post them on Facebook. Then we’ll challenge clients to do the work. Those that do will get points redeemable for necessities like sleeping bags, backpacks, etc. As a project is completed, we’ll send people out to take pictures and videotape each other’s stories so they can explain to neighbors in the area what is being done. We’ll post all this to Facebook, too.

Our goal is to get our clients interested in earning by working and improving neighborhood relations. Once we get things going, we might branch into gardening and art installation. We’ll need volunteers to help set up and operate Hey Neighbor from 3:15 to 5:30 p.m. — — —

The second event is a relaunch of Job Club by client request. And this time there will be stronger participation benefits. Attenders get access to a Facebook group where we post job listings early. We’ll ask community members to notify us of openings. And when clients get new jobs, we’ll give them three discounted daily bus passes (at 10% regular cost) followed by additional passes as they stay employed until paychecks begin to roll in. We’ll consider helping Job Club members with discounted job needs (shoes, pants, etc).

We’ll have to fundraise to have a kitty for this. We’ll ask donors to give 10 times whatever amounts clients supply. We’ll also need volunteers to help us set up, teach, role-play and clean up each week from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Our goal is getting clients to open up their imaginations in terms of career vocations and to retain the entry-level jobs they get.

Here’s what our “block schedule” looks like. You can see how it fits in with other services in the neighborhood. Our events are shown in Orange. Our very close partner, Lifeworks Street Outreach, is shown in Blue. The Micah 6 Street Youth events are shown in purple. We closely collaborate with these organizations. Other help from neighbors is shown in gray.

The Street Youth Ministry personality seen most often in the photographs we take is not the lead missionary, Terry Cole. It’s Rosie, Terry’s counseling dog, who seems to know exactly when to find her way into the frame before a shutter release is pushed. She provides untold comfort and companionship to clients and volunteers alike.

When Terry started the ministry, he studied a book on fundraising. There was literally a chapter in the book called “Don’t Buy a Dog.” It was about not intentionally increasing your cost of living when raising support. Lol!

About that time, Terry’s daughter chose a dog breed that would be perfect for the household. Non-allergenic, small, non-shedding, hardy, friendly. But Terry said, “No way. Now is not the time to buy a dog!”

Within a couple weeks, we found ourselves on a family vacation together and riding one of those little tourist trains. The ride owner had two dogs that loved to ride with passengers and one of them hopped into Terry’s lap. Low and behold it was the type selected by Terry’s daughter. After the ride, the whole family was musing over this “coincidence” when the ride owner came up and said, “We have puppies for sale.” The whole family was shouting, “Please, please, please!” Terry kept to his mantra, “Now is not the time to buy a dog. And who buys a dog on vacation, anyway?”

A few days later on the trip, Terry called a family meeting. He shared that if the family would chip in to pay the purchase price, Terry would raise the funds for the medical bills for shots, spaying, etc. Everyone was quickly in accord and we cut short our trip to go pick up our sweet Rosie! Here she is on her ride home from Arkansas!